Bemis Feed Sack Apron With Pioneer Brand Stamp

Bemis bags are probably the best known brand of vintage feed, seed and milling company sacks that were made. They provided the cloth bags for years for these companies, and one of them is used to make this apron.

The bag used for this apron simply had the company logo with the words Bemis Extra Heavy Seamless in a circle shape around the letter A. There is no number, but there is a small stamp above the logo. I cannot make out all of the letters in the company name, but it is followed by Pioneer Brand, Lebanon, Indiana.

This Bemis apron fabric has general staining as is typical of a vintage bag its' age. There also are some dark brown spots. At the bottom there were two holes that have been repaired. One was fairly large, and the other medium sized. Another hole is starting on the apron bodice. Heavy cotton webbing is used for the neck loop and the waist ties. Please let me know if you need additional photos.

The apron chest is 13 inches across.
The apron waist is 35 inches.
The length is 38 inches from the top center to the hemline.
The ties are each 52 inches.
Please use measurements to determine sizing.

The Bemis Historical Society offers this information about the company:
"The community of Bemis, Tennesee, and the Jackson Fiber Company which was later to be called "Bemis Cotton Mill", were born of the efforts of Judson Moss Bemis and the company he had founded in 1858, now known as Bemis Bro. Bag Company. Realizing that his company's bag factories must have a dependable supply of high-quality cotton bag goods, Mr. Bemis decided to build a cotton mill near the cotton fields, source of the raw material; near a good railroad center assuring excellent transportation service; and among people who would make dependable and efficient employees. The site that became Bemis offered all three of these fundamental requisites. Built on the original 300-acre site donated by the forward-thinking citizens of Jackson and Madison County through county appropriation, the first mill of 21,000 spindle capacity was erected in 1900, actual production starting the year following."

* Please keep in mind this apron was created from an authentic vintage cloth sack. Photos show the design and print darker than in actuality. While the apron is described as accurately as possible, due to the vintage quality there may be age marks not noted specifically. Also, finding some or many seeds or feed pieces caught in the fabric is quite common. The bags have been washed at least once and many seed/feed pieces have already been removed, but some may remain.